FYI if your going to do a 74 or 76....you typically dont need to have the case opened up for crankshaft clearancing. YES there is a very small area around the cylinder incert that may need a little Dremel action. I show it on my 74 stroker engine build. Very easy to DIY. no machine shop tools necessary. This should work on 74 and 76. You do need to assemble the crankshaft and rods with the bearings and rotate them in the case bolted up (mock up) mark it with a sharpie and cut a little. As to a 74. with stock length Clearanced! rods on an 88 or 85.5 you will need to run stock length 5.4 Clearanced rods. for them to clear the piston skirts. BUT mock it up and check it.....you still may need to cut the skirts. I dont think you will according to sources I checked with but you still should check! On a 76 I dont think you can run the 88 or 85.5 without machining the pistons. confirm that with brothers machine shop they do these all the time. On a 74 with A-pistons you can use 5.325 clearanced rods. only with 90.5 or 92 pistons because they have short skirts. This combination comes out to almost or NO SHIMS....still need to check your deck height but it is really close to stock. always refer to your manual and Verify with your parts supplier and machine shop before you order the parts.

Great video!! Lots of REAL information based on understandable rationale, not just opinion with no backup!! WELL DONE!! THANX!!

We did a 1968 for a Ghia we had. Weber 40 IDF's, webcams 163 cam, CB rods, aftermarket heads, basically exactly what you talk about and it was pretty darn fun. It ran really good. No clearancing of the case. The crank, rods dropped right in. Pretty much zero torment.

I'm building a 78mm stroked European 1300 dual port with stock 77mm bore and extra thick wall. To keep the CR @ 7.5:1, the amount of shimming moved the cylinder out to the point where almost nothing was left to keep the cylinder centered in the case. I was able to nickel silver braze custom made bushings on the bottom of the cylinders. Also the cylinder shrouds are shortened 9mm on the body side and lengthened 9mm on the case side. Shims are needed to close the gap between the fan housing and shroud.

Thanks Mike for a very informative clip!

Nice video Mike, very informative and simple to follow

Watching now! This will be informative. I currently have a 1904.

Hey Mike ! Richard had a machine shop and when he modified a case he would drill the holes for the head studs away from the cly. hole and then use steel case savers . it didn't have the saver against the cyl. problem .

Case strength is important. It does the other pushing. I think it was a 2185 cc engine that did sub 13 seconds on the quarter mile in a dune buggy. A bloke bought it and put it in a Kombie van. They weight and the power of that engine cracked that engine case. The engine is a whole unit.

Very informative and educational video, thank you.

Great video Mike. I have gone the slip in 88 thick wall route on a stock DP bottom end with AA big valve heads. Why? Because I watched one of your earlier videos! This was interesting, because if I need to do the bottom end in future I will go and stick the 74 crank and clearanced rods in it for 1800cc. With a cam upgrade this will be easily enough for my daily driver Ghia. As you say here, reliability, tractability and heat dissipation are keys for enjoyable everyday use...

Thanks Mike

Hey Mike, I built AA performance 74 mm crank and rods and I did have to clearance my case. I didn’t know about the CP performance stuff.

OK, I just subscribed. We are still not in the same solar system when it comes to factory cooling and thermostats. But, I can tell from this particular YT of yours that you have the experience. I completely agree with you on everything in this YT. I have a favorite engine (doghouse/dual relief) for Bugs (Buses are different) if a person has the same priorities as me: Lots more well-behaved horsepower (no flat spots, no hesitations, simple carburation, no overheating without additional oil cooler, excellent cold start and idle, excellent idle, GOOD gas mileage, but a need to run premium due to compression, flat and torquey powerband......) and stock reliability/durability but with a counterweighted crank and balanced pistons. If the cost for a new aluminum case were not a factor, what engine would you build? (Assuming we are building our engines ourselves but would farm out machine work).

14:27 Even if you just smooth the castings and match port the intake you can make heaps of horsepower. No need to cut on through for a street car.

Love this .....thanks!

Mike, great video and tons of info. I'm sold on the 1800 and 1968 with thick wall jugs. 💥Question.. for either of those, what carbs, distributor and exhaust would you run? Thanks!

Hey Mike ! The motor in Rambus is a 1600 with dp with D porting Engle 100 , 32 36 carb , extracter header with J tube and what I did wasthe wrong thing . Yeah it goes 92 mph but it is shooting to many RPM . One of these days I am going to stretch a rod or spring it . What I think I was wanting a low end power band . Rambus is a 71 with brake booster and I was advised not to go with a 110 or 120 due to intake vacuum drop .

My bus had a 76X90.5 engine I built myself. The crank was counterweighted and I used a '71 case. It made plenty of power with dual Solex carbs in 1976!

Dam !! Mike thanks .. mike you do engine builds ? Im out here in pasadena .. by bob costas old place

Thanks, been watching these for a while and was thinking of doing a 74 and 87 single port, but apparently 87s still have issues. So, your right, fix your size problem with compression. Your going to increase it any way most cases so why risk a hotter engine? I have a 1915, and although I love that engine, it's definitely a rail buggy only engine. It was my first build and kinda regret going 94s since it's on its first line bore. I just did a refresh on it, because my dumb 🍑 didn't tighten the flywheel enough, luckily caught it and didn't hurt anything, but it gave me an opportunity to put a counterweighted 69 in it that I got cheap off a buddy along with ratio rockers and chromoly shafts. So now it'll have a crower 3 with the ratios it should have even more awesome lift to better suit the dual spring big valves 😏. And I also just got done putting a 1776 together thanks to your advice on staying away from 92 thins which it came with. I got that engine in a deal and get this, that sucker didn't have a damn oil pick up in it 😅 thank god it never ran or never ran long. Still had assembly lube on it. Luckily the cam and crank were safe. I built it pretty much the same as the 1915, a crower 3 and big valve heads (single spring) it's going in my split bus.

Good stuff Mike! 👍 I too would never use 87s. On a side note 94s can be trimmed down at the base to slip into a 90.5 case, same deal as a TW 88. 🤔 Not ideal but every little bit helps.

Wow. You know alot. I'm new to this. Going to look at street legal sand rail. 1600 single another. Looking for advice.

Grazie mille delle informazioni... io volevo fare un 1641 .. ma andrò per un 88 mm muro spesso ... allargando le testate .. grazie

🇺🇸👍 good information thanks for sharing 👍

Thickness at the cylinder tops: The new 92 mm from AA (4.55 mm) Modern machine-in 88 mm (4.5 mm) Stock 85.5 mm (4.15 mm) Modern 90.5 mm (3.75 mm) 94s mm (3.55 mm) 87 mm slip-ins (3.4 mm) Old 90.5 mm (3.25) Old 92 mm (3.0 mm) 88 mm slip-ins (2.9 mm) (Credit to jpaull)

4:03 For the big bore you need the skinny stud cases. 90.5 needs to cut the case to fit. Even the 1776 engine is better than the old 1600. The old beetles you had to turn the engine so the exhaust valve was down so you could get the tappet cover off. I have Mitsubishi now much more work. My Subaru was almost VW just remember for the tappet clearances the exhaust is in the middle. The old Subaru ea81 engine is reliable as. I think they use them in airplanes.

Watching this and looking at prices has me thinking. I have an older engine and did not plan to split the case. This is going to be my first build and I planned to do the top end stuff, If you do a different crankshaft, how do you know what bearings to buy?

I build my own engines...and agree with what Mike is talking about. I have a Demello 78.4 x 92 Thickwall with dual Italian 40 webers in my Split Kombi, On a chassis dyno, with a straight axle beetle trans 4.12 r/p it put 97hp and 105 torque at the tire. It pulls long grades and head winds remarkably good! I just finished up a 1915cc in an H-case for my Auto cross car, because it's what I had...and wanted to see how it'd do. It has lot's of down low power...and on the freeway the oil it runs really hot. I didn't build it for that, but just wanted to concur...a 1915 is not a destination engine build. You will NOT like it in a daily driver. Maybe if it was full-flowed, and an thermostat fan controlled oil cooler it'd work? But I wouldn't waste my money on new parts to build that. Great video!! 92 Thickwalls fit in a 94mm register....so unless you have an 8mm head stud case, you'll be cutting it close to getting into the stud inserts with either 94's or 92mm Thickwall cylinders.

Have you ever even driven a 2276 or bigger with “real” heads? Go big or go home Fun to drive to me means ridiculously fast

Nice video.👍👍👍😎😎😎

I also have to cut off my piston skirts and shim the cylinders

What size cam do you recommend for a 1968cc build? And do you recommend running premium gas?

On the 1800 and 1968, what carbs, distributor and exhaust would you run? Thanks!

Mike, I am getting ready to build the engine for a 1970 bus. Am wanting more torque and have been looking at a Stroker build with a AA Performance kit. Was looking at the 74 or 76 stroke. Was wondering what size you would suggest. This video gave me a lot of information for this build. Great job on the video.

So, if I build a 2110 on my brand new bubble aluminum case, I'd need to get it shuffle-pinned around my center main bearing?

Ok regarding the 94s and an old mag case I understand your reasoning but would you be ok with 94s and a new aluminum case?

If I choose upgrade my 1971 Ghia 1600cc stock to 1679cc with stock 69mm bore stroke and new 88mm displacement cylinder and piston and dual port 90.5 cylinder head top end kit, do I have to machines to open up the case bores to 90.5 for the upgrade? Also, what size cam would I need for this upgrade? Any advice would greatly appreciated.

Hi Mike, Rather than me trying to find the right Case, how much would you charge me to just build me a Short Block with the correct or right Case

I have stretch casesavers outwards 8 mm. studs will flex. So 94 works.

Sorry to jump into this conversation a tad too late. Is there any point on building 1385 big bore out of 1200? There is a nice 63 for sale in my area with original engine, and I cannot but wonder...

8:43 The engine is designed to be at 3000 rpm. Standard crank without counterweights at a higher RPM It will spread the center of the case. The problem is when the bearing can move it will. Counter weighted crank and stay below 8000 rpm. Top engines but they were not built for torture.

1776, 1835, 2110, 2180. That’s all I ever had, all I would ever consider. Dual Dellorto 40s (max) on the first 2 and IDAs on the last two. All Weber carbs are garbage EXCEPT 48 IDAs . There is no substitute for them.

Hey Mike I'm new to beetles I just got a 1974 standard bug single port not sure what cc engine is in there can you tell me what to look for so I can start getting the information for my engine, heads etc...? Please.

I just put in a brand new 1835 inch didn’t use a break in oil instead i used SAE 40, so far i have driven 50 miles on it, what type of oil do you recommend from this point on? Thanks

I've built each one of these (except 87's and 92's, for the reasons Mike talked about). 94s are fine but you need an Aluminum case + 8mm studs, good cooling (i.e. external oil cooler) larger fan, CNC heads, larger cam, etc. etc. Its just gets WAY more expensive to do correctly. If you don't have the money go closer to stock.

How do you guys with nonstock engines run thermostats? I am afraid to go to a larger engine because I won't be able to run a thermostat, and the engine won't warm up quickly, shortening its life.

74mm no clearance needed 99% ? Mike, did you ever build a 74mm my friend haha....... The cilinder opening bores needs to be clearance for the rod studs and also your piston skirts need to be cut off or you van reshape them. And some cases hit from the crankshaft to with 74mm. Its not to much work, but defenently not plug and play. I agree, if you have the money to spend and looking for a good motor and torque a 74mm crank is the way to go.

If I have a case already opened at 94 can I go down to 92's??

Just buildin' 1641, schould I start crayin' 😂😂 😉

Sorry. Single port.

Without spending stupid money you won't make a vw fast and reliable, plus a vw is no handling or braking machine, 1776 won't brake the bank and will last and have moderate power increase

I picked up a Free sandrail. Has, i think i haven't pulled it out yet, 1200 single port. What would you suggest. It is frozen so I'm sure it's a total rebuild. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time. 😊